The Chairman of the Iraqi Cement Manufacturers Association, Engineer Ammar Rahim Abdullah Al-Saadi, chaired a meeting of the association's administrative body on Tuesday, May 26, 2025, at the association's headquarters in Baghdad. At the beginning of the meeting, the Chairman welcomed the association members who were present at the association's headquarters and those who participated via call conference.
In his opening remarks, Al-Saadi called on representatives of the private sector to cooperate and communicate with each other to ensure the stability of the Iraqi cement market in terms of quantities and prices.
The meeting included several topics, most notably:
🔹Discussing production capacities for the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period this year.
🔹Presentation of the Association's procedures for delaying the establishment of new cement factories with the Ministry of Industry and Minerals. A committee has been formed from the Ministry's departments. Its mission is to cross-reference data with all relevant parties to identify discrepancies between factories that have obtained approvals from the General Directorate of Development and the National Investment Commission. Visiting the sites of new factories or those under construction to assess progress and the seriousness of the investing companies. A report will be prepared by the above-mentioned team, based on which appropriate recommendations will be made.
🔹Presentation of the letter from the Iraqi Geological Survey regarding limestone reserves in Iraq's governorates.
🔹Presentation of the Association's procedures regarding the cancellation of clinker testing and the mandatory implementation of the Prime Minister's decision, requiring testing companies to inspect final products within factories and not to inspect clinker at border crossings.
🔹 Presentation of the most important outcomes of the first international conference on carbon economics in Iraq, held at the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad this May. The president of the association delivered a speech outlining the association's and member companies' efforts to reduce emissions. Official registration of reduction projects for each plant will begin.
🔹 Discussion of the outcomes of the meeting held by the president of the association with representatives of KHD Company. They provided a detailed explanation of the latest equipment used in the cement industry, which utilizes expert systems that help improve cement production and reduce maintenance and fuel consumption. Simulex simulation systems are also used in the cement industry, which train technical and engineering personnel working in various specialties in the cement industry. The importance of these programs was reviewed in terms of providing appropriate training and graduating fully qualified personnel to engage in cement production operations at a lower cost and in a safer environment compared to traditional on-site training methods.
